Tokyo 2020: Aditi tied 2nd, Diksha falters

Unlike other events, at Tokyo 2020, the 60-player field will play 18 holes each day and there will be no cut, so all players get to play 72 holes.

Afrer first round Aditi is just one one shot behind the leader, Madalene Sagstrom of Sweden, who shot 66.

“I think I played better than I expected today because I had a lot of hybrids into the greens, so I didn’t really expect to be like 5-under through 17,” Aditi was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.

Aditi may well have had a share of the lead but for a bogey on the 18th hole.

While Sagstrom shot a bogey free five-under 66, Aditi had five birdies against one bogey and that on the closing hole.

She was placed well ahead of some big names in women’s golf, including the formidable defending champion Inbee Park (69).

Tokyo Olympics: Inbee Park healthy, relaxed as she looks for repeat gold

Among others, South Korea’s world number two Ko Jin-young , Finland’s Matilda Castren and Spaniard Carlota Ciganda were tied fourth after all three carded 3-under 68 each.

New Zealand’s former World number one Lydia Ko (70) was four behind the leader, while Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, a double major winner, stumbled to 77 with six bogeys and is tied for 58th.

Major winners Feng Shanshan of China and Canadian Brooke Henderson shot 74 each.

At the Kasumigaseki Country Golf Club, Aditi birdied fifth and ninth from 15 feet and seven feet respectively.

On the back nine, she added birdies on the 13th from 15 feet and another from almost 18 feet on 17th.

In between, she had another birdie on 14th from under three feet after a superb approach. Placed at 5-under she bogeyed the last after missing a par from under seven feet.

‘But, I kind of holed some (good) putts and holed important par putts as well which kept the momentum. So, yeah, it was a good day,” she said.

Tokyo 2020: Aditi, Diksha all set for women’s golf at Olympics

The 23-year-old from Bengaluru, who has 18 Major appearances, had attracted global attention with a start of 68-68 in the first two rounds at Rio 2016, but then faded to T-41st, but hopes experience will prove handy this time.

“At Rio 2016, I had just finished my high school exams and then I was at the Olympics in two months. But this time I think definitely a lot more experience, just playing on the LPGA the last five years makes you way better as a player than I was at Rio.

“And I think the Olympic experience was, I didn’t finish as well as I wanted to last time, but just seeing the effect that it had on golf in India was inspiring and that’s kind of what motivated me for this one as well,” Aditi added.